EU-Taliban Brussels Talks Spark Backlash From Afghan Women

Closed-door talks between European Union officials and a Taliban delegation in Brussels have drawn sharp criticism from Afghan women, human-rights campaigners and migration advocates.

The Associated Press reported that the meeting focused on deportations, consular channels and relations with Afghanistan's de facto rulers, while the Guardian said campaigners feared the encounter would normalise a regime that has erased women from much of public life.

Background

The EU and Belgium insist the talks do not amount to recognition of the Taliban. Critics counter that formal engagement confers political legitimacy at a time when women and girls remain barred from secondary education, many forms of work and public participation.

The controversy sits at the intersection of European migration pressure and Afghanistan's deepening rights crisis.

What happens next

For opponents, the central question is whether returns can ever be safe or dignified when the receiving government denies basic freedoms to half its population. The row is likely to intensify if further meetings follow.